Posted on 01/26/2016 11:40:59 AM PST by SeekAndFind
California's plans for a high-speed rail system are coming undone as indecision over routes undermines progress, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In 2012 the state rail authority decided to build the first segment of the $68 billion project from LA's Union Station into the Central Valley, ending well short of the final goal: a 2 hour, 40 minute trip from LA to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 2012 plan would confront the most challenging part of the route first: the rocky Tehachapi and San Gabriel Mountains just north of LA. It would also provide the first physical manifestation of the long-proposed project and give some assurance of its political survival.
The LA Times' Ralph Vartabedian reports:
The original decision to start the initial segment in Burbank was considered a major economic benefit to the region, providing commuters with 15-minute rides to Palmdale, a connection to a future Las Vegas bullet train and an early link to the growing Central Valley.
But the state is facing major difficulties with the south-first plan. By building in the north initially, the state would delay the most difficult and expensive segment of the entire $68-billion project: traversing the geologically complex Tehachapi and San Gabriel mountains with a large system of tunnels and aerial structures.
This new interest in building from the north first comes just one week after announcing an $800,000 effort to find a suitable starting location in Burbank, near LA.
The hope is that the north-first plan would be less risky, making it more likely that construction can begin before the project becomes politically nonviable.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Well, sir, there’s nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car Monorail!
Something like that would’ve been their best bet. Straight up the 5.
The Southern Pacific engineers in 1874 knew what they were doing when they constructed the Tehachapi Loop. These guys must be listening to Willie Green.
A maglev monorail following highways would be too logical. No land deals, rights of way.. Corrupt politicians would never go for it.
The Choo-Choo Express to nowhere.
Fixed.
The project is no where near $68 billion. It was estimated years ago to cost north of $100 billion. Example of why this is being built and the water crisis in the central valley.
Sen. Feinsteins Husbands Company to Bag $1 Billion for Government Deal
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/17/sen-feinsteins-husbands-company-to-bag-1-billion-for-government-deal/
Dianne Feinstein’s husband wins near-billion dollar California ‘high speed rail’ contract
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/03/dianne_feinsteins_husband_wins_nearbillion_dollar_california_high_speed_rail_contract.html
That’s Right!!!
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